Ride in a 1964 Buick Wildcat with a 425 Nailhead Engine? Why Not! on My Car Story with Lou Costabile 

the'63 thru '67 Wildcat's had some of the best faces of the decade, with the '64 possibly the most beautiful.

That car is so far beyond just beautiful I can't even begin to describe it.

( continued) On asphalt. I really loved that car. I had alot of fun with the car and great memories. Cars like those should NEVER die!!!!

Have always loved the 64 Buicks. I always remember our neighbor's 64 Buick wagon when I was a kid, made our 64 Malibu wagon seem like a peddle car. The nail head engine design has always intrigued me as well.

Sweet ride! I notice all the Buicks of the early to mid '60s era had the same style automatic shift lever on the center console. It kinda looks like the Seattle Space Needle. Very stylish and unique. I like it! Then again, what's there not to like on a Buick?

I had this car but with white leather interior in 1972. A beauty of a beast.I was so lucky at 16.

I had a 64 Buick Wildcat. It was an Arctic White coupe. It didn't have all the toys, it had dual remote mirrors,a driverside chrome plated spotlight. speed alert,and those awesome triple dipped chrome Buick mag style wheels. The engine was a 401-445 Wildcat nailhead with dual exhaust.The engine ran as smooth as silk with gobs of torque. It was easy to light up the tires. She rode great,handled great,and was very reliable. Those were enough reasons for me to really rather have a Buick. I ❤❤❤ ❤❤ Buicks!

This is a fantastic car my friends mom's had one when I was a teenage.

Love the rumble, and the little downshift pops were awesome

Thats called haulin' ass in class ! good job Lou.

Awesome Buick!! Love it!! Never gets old!

I had a 63 wildcat with the 445 in high school. Everyone called it the bat mobile. We could take 6 guys surfing. The back seat saw a lot of action. I loved that car.

That 425 Wildcat 465 was standard in the 1964 Riviera with a Optional SUPER Wildcat in this Wildcat . The engine design was unique with that elevated intake Manifold and Cover plate for the Oil galley where the Lifter would be for easy replacement . That design pretty well dictated that the engine needed the old system of Cooling where you can see the solid pipes coming from the front of the Cylinder heads (01:15) to meet at the midpoint where the Thermostat is and THEN the radiator access Hose . What I like about the design is that the whole fuel intake system could be unbolted from the heads and Bench Tested on a replicate Motor to set the Oxygen/Fuel ratio and Idle speed , plus check the Dual Quad carbs for the Secondary Kick-in for acceleration . Then just bolt in back on with a minimal issue for Engine Coolant if any was routed through the manifold . The Lifters as well only need to have the Rocker covers removed to get the push rods out of the way to extract them if they have dirt build-up and stick the odd time which is easy to take apart and clean out. That space under the manifold will allow for the air flow from the Fan to pass under and cool it for better performance since there is no direct engine heat fro the heads and Coolant. That thermostat gets a better reading from the cylinder Heads and Block that should make the engine last longer . The engineers and designer during the 1960 must have honed their skills post-war when the 1950's shook off the carry-over designs from 1942 and it took to 1949 to re-tool when FORD and Cadillac made their big change. The overhead valve V8's also came in as the jet age gave cars the Fins and styling .

My best friend mom had one one these and it would haul. We did a 1/4 mile at about 90 + we just couldn't get it stopped fast enough before the stop sign

My parents bought a canary yellow 1964 Wildcat coupe with black interior, black vinyl top and 425 4 barrel. My mother loved to beat all the sports cars at stop lights until one day she ran a fuel injected Sting Ray. She said, "Look at that crazy guy" as he disappeared. We loved our Widcat!

BUICK- “The Unsung Hero”

That is a great exhaust note...as it is often called

I found a 1963 wild cat in good condition, it has the 401 in it all the power I need. She is asking $6500 for it. I think i may get it. Great video by the way.

Beautiful RIDE

Love your videos, especially the Buicks! You need to do a ride a long in a 65 Riviera, my favorite of all time.

I commented before about my 64 Wildcat. I didn't have the 425 nailhead.I had the 401-445 nailhead.The only mods I ever made was a K+N air filter and custom duals with cherry bombs and shorty pipes and let me tell you,it was a fire breather.I had to be careful not to dig trenches on 10:37 10:37 10:37 10:37 asphalt! Now

currently restoring the same vehicle!!! but in baby blue and also located in Illinois. Chicago land area. my father has a 4 door as well. Love the video!

GOOD NIGHT NURSE! I had to smoke a cigarette after watching this! :)

Hey Lou. Beautiful looking 64 Buick Wildcat. My grandparents drove Buicks and Chevys throughout much of their married life. I know they had a Buick Wildcat, although I can't remember whether they had a 64 model year. :)

All models of 1964 Buicks had such a clean, tight grille bumper combo. They looked like they were forged out of one piece of steel.

No radio needed just listen to that engine!

My two favorite engines as it comes to the dual exhaust tone is the Buick 401/425 and the Ford Thunderbird 292/312.

One of the LAST good things to come out of Flint. 50 years ago; wow. The workers who assembled it are gone, the $70,000 a year jobs are gone, the factory is gone, the city is crack-heaven. Flint. It's almost a swear word now.

Two options so few convertibles ever had back in the day: Air Conditioning and Power Windows. For some reason people thought they would never drive with the top up so who needs A/C. (I do) But what is the use of having a power top if you STILL have to get out of the car to roll all the windows down? I am not all that fond of convertibles anyway, but my 1964 Skylark Convertible (with a Wildcat 355, a 300 cid 4bbl engine) had A/C and I installed power windows in it from a salvage car, which was a 1965 Skylark hardtop. I LOVE the front bumper and grill on the entire 1964 Buick line. They look so solid and neat how they so seamlessly integrate.

Love those 64 Wildcats. My grandfather still has his in my garage. I'm trying to buy it from him, but he won't let go lol!

I’m going to answer the question to the old Buick commercial. Yeas I would rather have a Buick. I’m 64 and grew upon them and have always had one as my 2nd vehicle.

Great car. My parents took delivery of their special order 1964 Wildcat 2 door coupe two months prior to my birth. My dad ordered the single 4 barrel version of this engine, which was rated at 340 (Gross) HP. His had the "super turbine 400" transmission, which was Buick's name for the then new TH400, in addition to a positraction rear and the heavy duty suspension package. A word about horsepower ratings: This owner claims his engine is "probably under-rated" at 360 HP. That's nonsensical. The old gross figures were to quote CAR AND DRIVER's the editor in chief Csaba Csere, "essentially meaningless. The as installed (SAE Net) state is all that matters, which is why they ratings system was mandated by the Federal Government in the 1972 model year. Today's engines are still rated under that system. In its "as installed" state, this "360 HP" Buick 425 produced something on the order of 260 HP when it rolled off the production line back in the day. Figure 205 HP or so on a modern inertia chassis dyno. And they, that's a very solid figure by 1964's standards!

I bought a new 1964 Buick 4 dr hardtop wildcat with auto trans, no power steering or AC. It broke a piston and when the mechanic tried to replace it, the replacement piston would turn end over end in the cyl when checking they found out it had a special engine made for law enforcement. I don't know what cu in it was but from idle on the pavement you could punch it and it would start spinning and continue as long as you could hold it in the road. Got better than 20mpg too. Sure wish I knew what the engine was. I kept the car until my son rear ended someone and wrecked it in1975, it messed up the front cap and I gave it to a friend. It was the only car that I never got to the top end, I did go beyond 130mph though.

Oh, what a FANTASTIC car! Just beautiful! Right engine but no A/C or other expected options?

Needed more details on this ride

I am possibly buying a 64 4 door wildcat with a 425 Tommorrow 😆🥰🥰.. this video has me excited. I friggin love it

A great car brings out the boy in the man.

Oh my, my, my. A 465 dual quad. I think that is how they spelled Giddy Up in 1964. That old girl has almost as much torque as that pretty little blue number in the background :-). Those old Buicks are just beautiful automobiles. I went to school with a guy that same setup but in black. When he nailed it I ended up in the back seat. Rating this engine at 360 hp is one of the best jokes ever told. I'd guess the true hp number was pretty close to the torque number, but that's just my guess. Like you Lou I love to see people driving these old classics. I was watching Jay Leno once and he was talking about how people brag about how few miles their car has and Jay said "is your wife a virgin too?" Cracked me up. With the low-end torque and the weight of that car, a set of bias-ply tires could be smoked into dust in just a few burnouts LOL. What fun you two children were having :-). I think the 4 folks that gave this video a thumbs down should be banished!! What a beautifully preserved car. Thank you Lou for bringing this beautiful example to your loyal gearhead fans.

Just subscribed about a month ago and I'm Lovin your videos!

We liked you Lou. You cooli

Not much into this car though it’s really nice I just like waking up with my car story and Lou

Beautiful car, but that one should be able to turn high to mid 14s in the quarter... Don't be afraid to RUN IT once in a while!

Bet yall didnt know about the hanger muffler on the super cat you crawl under neath and pull the muffler off the factory headers and man talk about screaming open header dragster increases the horse power double and torque and you have a place to hang it when you slipped it off tell him about it so he can hear the real wildcat roar i had a 66 wildcat as a kid nobody could beat me i out run chevells camaros 440 hemis and its got a launch you hit the brake and gas it wont spin but let off the break it launch and if caught traction positive the torque was massive i mean g force like no other and 120 mph was cruising for this car top out it bury the needle and just keep climbing i mean good 160 maybe lil more the carbs would shoot gass in the air and drop in the carb swallow and waaaaaaaaaahhhhhh you were gone tunnel ram intake factory headers over head cams factory 2 quads carter 1000cfm each with a high lift cam and hanger muffler forget it no factory engine could touch this one

GM WAS KILL'N THEM BACK THEN!! DUAL CARBS? ARE YOU CRAZY? GM WAS GETN DOWN!!!!

Burn out i had one it roast the tires like a dragster

So Buick put that engine in the Black Bird spy plane? Daayum!

We had 1967 wildcat gold with a black vinyl roof and Buick sport rims . That was a car., but it was stolen.

I'm going to slap the next kid who says vtec with this video! Now there's an ENGINE!

they just don't make them like that anymore I always love Buick I always love those park Ave but After GM jack those cars up I went to Ford and look back but I like those Wildcat; Riviera;and duce & Quarter,

What a beautifully sculpted car, compared to the plastic jelly bean POS's of today....

This is when GM was doing the dam thing I don't what GM. Is putting out now

That was really cool! I loved the the mini fins on it too!